Hundred Word Highlights: Billy Strings and Rodney Crowell

…Each CD review is guaranteed to be a full one hundred words, because sometimes

ninety-nine and a half won’t do.

by Curtis Lynch

Billy Strings

“EP”

www.billystrings.com

You might have missed this 2016 release. I sure did. Lucky you, I’m here to remedy that problem for you. Billy Strings, twenty-five years old and straight out of Michigan via Kentucky, is a flat-out talented guy, whether you’re talking about singing, flat-picking, or banjo playing. Like a baseball player that can hit for power, steal bases and snag anything hit near him, Strings is blessed with a voice that can wail a traditional bluegrass song or shout out a blues, lightning fast fingers, and a charismatic stage presence. Gold Glove material. Picks: “Black Mountain Rag,” “Dust In A Baggie.”

Rodney Crowell

“Close Ties”

New West Records

www.rodneycrowell.com

Crowell has been writing, recording, and performing songs for quite a few years now, but his erudite lyricism, his poignant, unvarnished self-examinations have only gotten sharper over time, as evidenced by his new release, “Close Ties.” Rodney has always been difficult to classify, he’s a bridge between country’s deepest roots, a rock-n-roller’s wildest excesses and a poet’s anguish. All of those qualities are here in ample supply, along with a layer of a kind of reflective weariness. Is this as good as the best of Crowell’s records? Let’s just say it’s a close tie. Picks: “Life Without Susanna, “Nashville 1972.”